Life Sciences and Chemistry

Mice with specific genetic mutations exhibit behavior similar to human psychosis, report UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers, providing further support to the notion of a genetic link to schizophrenia.

The researchers genetically engineered mice with a mutation in the gene NPAS3, a mutation in the gene NPAS1 or a mutation in both genes. Both genes encode proteins that switch other genes on and off in brain cells. “These mice display certain deficits that are poten

Restoration of fertility to the now-sterile garlic plant has been accomplished by Israeli researchers, thus opening the way to wide-ranging scientific research that could lead to improved yields and quality.

Garlic is one of the most popular vegetable condiments in the world. Its origins are in Central Asia, where in the past, several fertile or semi-fertile garlic plants were identified. However, the cultivated, commercial plants we know today are totally sterile and are propaga

A well known anti-cancer agent in certain vegetables has just had its reputation enhanced. The compound, in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, has been found to be effective in disrupting late stages of cell growth in breast cancer.

Keith Singletary and doctoral student Steven Jackson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report their finding involving sulforaphane (SUL), which they say could ultimately be used to enhance the prevention and treatment of breast can

In the human body, hundreds of different types of biomolecular motors help carry out such essential tasks as muscle contraction, moving chromosomes during cell division, and reloading nerve cells so they can repeatedly fire.

How these little proteins perform their duties is becoming clearer to scientists using an extremely sensitive measurement technique. Myosin VI, they found, moves by the same “hand-over-hand” mechanism as two other molecular motors, myosin V and kinesin.

Escaped salmon are a problem for the fish-farming industry. Is it possible to identify the fish-farm from which salmon have escaped by testing a sample of their DNA? Scientists at the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen have been looking into the prospects of doing so.

Escapees are a major problem for fish farming, not only for the farmers who lose their fish, but also for stocks of wild salmon. This is because cultivated salmon have been bred to thrive in an artificial environm

Females have traditionally been viewed as the choosy, monogamous sex compared to males, but recent genetic studies have revealed that females of many, if not most, animal species also mate multiply with different partners. However, understanding why females should do this has remained something of enigma.

Speaking at the British Ecological Society’s Annual Meeting, Dr William Hughes of the University of Sydney and Professor Jacobus Boomsma of the University of Copenhagen will a